Summary

Arizona State University at the West Campus is one of four university campuses that compose Arizona State University (ASU). The West campus was established by the Arizona Legislature in 1984, and is located in northwest Phoenix, bordering the city of Glendale.

ASU's campuses are unified as a single institution, and so the West campus shares students, faculty, administration, and accreditation with the other campuses.[4] As of fall 2009, 10,380 students were enrolled in at least one course on the West campus, while the FTE enrollment for the campus is 6,173.[1]

In 2008, the West campus was designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride,[5] and in 2011, construction concluded on a large solar array that powers nearly the entire campus with solar power.[6]

History

Established as the second ASU campus in 1984, construction of the West Campus began in 1986, with the first permanent buildings completed by 1989. Originally known as "ASU West," this campus operated quasi-independently of the Tempe campus and had its own administration, faculty, and student admissions process. At the time, the west campus was designed to offer only upper-level undergraduate courses (with lower-level courses to be taken at nearby Glendale Community College). In 2001, freshmen students were admitted, allowing them to complete their entire undergraduate education on the West campus. The academic offerings on the West campus were designed to highlight an interdisciplinary focus in the academic areas of liberal arts and sciences, education, and business.[7] With the arrival of current ASU president Michael Crow in 2002, the academic structure of ASU was reorganized to integrate the west campus into the University as a whole.[8] Today, the West campus shares faculty, students, accreditation, and administration with the other ASU campuses.

Facilities

The West campus is the smallest of ASU's campuses in terms of facility space (square footage of buildings). The campus primarily consists of five cloistered academic buildings arranged around a quad, with several smaller satellite buildings housing auxiliary and administrative offices.

In 2011, the Gary K. Herberger Young Scholars Academy, a school for gifted children, opened on the east side of the campus. The school will eventually house students from 7th-12th grade, and will share west campus common areas. In addition, construction began on three new facilities: a student housing complex, Casa De Oro, and a campus dining commons, Verde Dining, which were completed for the fall 2012 semester, and a student recreational facility, Sun Devil Fitness Complex, to be completed by January 2013.[9]

Programs

The programs offered on the West campus focus on interdisciplinary and collaborative programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, and business,[8] leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.[10][11] The west campus is the headquarters of ASU's New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences and Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, and offers additional programs from the W. P. Carey School of Business. ASU's Graduate College, Honors College and University College also have an administrative presence on the campus.[12]

The campus is covered by "@west news," an independent, student-run, 501(c)(3) non-profit newspaper, located in the Fletcher Library. It prints bi-weekly and is supported exclusively through contributions and advertising revenue.

Residence Halls

Two residential complexes are located on the west campus. Casa De Oro, a LEED Silver complex built in 2012, offers traditional dormitory-style accommodations in which students are arranged based on their academic area of study.[13] Las Casas, built in 2002, offers apartment-style units for families and upper-class students.[14]